USS Messenger (NCC-74831)
The USS'' Messenger'' (NCC-74831) was an Federation starship in service in the latter 24th century. ( ) History The USS Messenger was one of the first ships to take flight out of the newly operational Mariposa Fleet Yards, which took on nearly-complete starships from other Federation shipyards in early 2374 (as well as beginning construction on new vessels). Command was given to Captain Tracy Devonshire and her maiden voyage was a simple trip to Starbase 54, her new home port. The breakout of the Dominion War changed everything; the little science vessel was expected to be a spy; she was assigned to the 6th Fleet and carried out several dangerous scouting missions, bringing back vital intel for the Federation and their allies. Messenger also proved to be a capable fighter, the ship's maneuverability and the skill of her pilot enabling them to escape from most skirmishes with little damage. Just a month before the first year's end saw Messenger's luck reach its own. A short but heated battle took the life of Captain Devonshire, and several crewmembers -- including the XO and chief engineer -- were critically wounded. Extensive damage was sustained on the ship's starboard side and at the stern, leaving her in drydock for two months undergoing repairs. (planned story "Shakedown") In January of 2375, command of the restored Messenger was taken by Dominic Murphy, a survivor of the First Battle of Chin'toka. Their first mission was to rendezvous with a R'naari medical vessel inside R'naari Imperial Territory; this meeting was interrupted, however, when Messenger responded to a distress call of a Klingon ship. During the ensuing battle with Jem'Hadar raiders, the helm officer was critically wounded when the console exploded. Third-year cadet Charlaine Tucker convinced Captain Murphy to have helm control rerouted to the science station, from which she successfully piloted the ship through the rest of the conflict. For her ingenuity, Murphy granted Tucker a field promotion to Ensign. She would remain helm officer for a number of years. (planned story "Shakedown") In February of 2376, Messenger attempted to aid the Sovereign-class starship Andromeda. Upon arrival at their sister-ship's coordinates, they discovered that a discarded Dominion experiment had led to the loss of the Andromeda crew save one officer. With her assistance, they were able to diffuse the very great threat to the quadrant posed by the experiment, though this victory required the destruction of the Andromeda. ("Acceptable Losses") Mid-August of 2378 saw the greatest of Messenger's calamities. The ship was discovered to be infested with a sub-atomic bacterial lifeform known colloquially as "shiprot", due to the damage caused by their feeding on the hulls of starships. If the lifeforms were not detected early enough, they could weaken a ship's spaceframe in a matter of months. When they were discovered on Messenger, the fact that the ship had not had a proper overhaul in since her initial launch (due to the outbreak of the Dominion War) had given the bacteria more than enough time to cause irreparable damage. Starbase Echo's yardmaster was forced to declare the ship NWS -- not worth saving. It was only by sheer coincidence that a brand-new Steamrunner-class starship, just weeks from being finished, was available to be commissioned to carry on the Messenger name. ("New Life, New Civilization - Part One") Senior Officers (2375 - 2376) * Captain Dominic Murphy - Commanding Officer (Human-Klingon) * Lieutenant Commander Jaarid - Executive Officer (R'naari) * Commander Maureen Killian, M.D. - Chief Medical Officer (Human) * Lieutenant Commander Arkhet djan Zabrak - Chief Engineer (Tellarite) * Lieutenant Tyrone Ja-Nareth - Senior Science Officer (Efrosian) * Lieutenant Sullek - Senior Operations Officer (Roylan) * Lieutenant Yvala Hollen - Chief of Security/Tactical Officer (Unjoined Trill) * Ensign Charlaine Tucker - Senior Flight Control Officer (Human) * Dr. Amalys Tyr'lylth, Ph.D. - Ship's Counselor (Muus-a) Senior Officers (2377) * Lieutenant Commander Calista Nir'ahn, M.D. - Chief Medical Officer (Andorian) * Lieutenant Roijiana, Ph.D. - Ship's Counselor (Boslic) Stories *"Blue Angel" *"Acceptable Losses" *"New Life, New Civilization - Part One" External link *''Star Trek: Between the Stars'' Story Archive Category:Fan fiction